A recording of a live solo performance that combines a live ultrasound feed of the performers heartbeat with various forms of tuned white noise and found tapes of psychology experiments relating to immediate recall, word identification and word associations.
The reel to reel tapes that are used in this performance were donated by a retired psychologist. They cover various word based audio perception tests including immediate recall experiments. In these tests the participant hears two words simultaneously over the headphones, one in the left channel and one in the right channel. They are then instructed to count backwards in three's until they hear a click - the participant is then asked to recall the words that they have just heard. The experiments are designed to investigate the effect of intervals of time on our ability to retain information or recall a word or sound.
The piece also uses field recordings of various types of white noise, both man-made and naturally occurring; the sea, wind, fans, ventilation units, traffic, etc. The use of these sounds in the composition mimics popular on-line and telephone hearing tests that use a mask of white noise at differing levels to obfuscate the spoken words that the subject is asked to identify.
Immediate Recall was first performed at Glasgow School of Art as part of the Interzone exhibition on 30th November, 2012.